USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume II > Part 105
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"The intent of this is to inform you of a late affair at this post. On the 21st inst. there appeared a number of Indians on the flats opposite the fort, who had taken one old man [Bidlack] before they appeared on the flats, and were in pursuit after another, who the people in the block-house relieved by advancing upon them ; but our people were soon obliged to retreat, seeing a superior number, though a very hot fire on both sides. The enemy immediately ran about the flats collecting horses and cattle. I ordered a party over (who, with those stationed in the block-house, made about forty, and two sub- altern officers), who pushed upon them with such bravery that they retreated through the flats, with a constant fire on both sides till they came to woods, when our men dis- covered two large bodies over a little creek-the whole supposed to be upwards of 200. Our men retreated slowly, firing, which prevented their pushing, Indian like, and got back to the block-house well through a heavy fire. The Indians immediately went in pursuit of horses and cattle again, our men in small parties pursuing and firing upon them ; but notwithstanding the activity of our troops, after severe skirmishing for two hours and a-half, the enemy carried off sixty head of horned cattle and twenty horses, and shot my riding-horse (they could not catch him), and burned five barns that were partly full of grain and hay, and ten houses that the inhabitants had deserted, and shot a number of hogs and sheep that they left lying [where they fell].
" We had not one man killed, taken or wounded, except the old man [Bidlack] first mentioned, though a considerable number of our men had bullets through their clothes and hats. Lieutenant Pettigrew, a brave officer of Colonel Hartley's regiment, had his ramrod shot all to pieces in his hand. It is aggravating to see the savage wretches drive off cattle and horses, and burning and destroying, and we not able to attack them out of the fort. I have sent by the express (who will hand this to Capt. [Alexander] Patterson, to be forwarded to you) a particular account of the affair and a particular state of this place [addressed] to his Excellency, General Washington. I mention that they have taken off cattle, horses, etc. They have got them out of our reach, but we have no reason to think they have left the place, as a number of fires were discovered on the side of the mountain last night.
"Can only say I have the honor to be your Honor's most obedient humble servant, [Signed] "ZEBN BUTLER."
"N. B .- Of horses and cattle that were taken in the late action there were seven Continental horses, and eight [head] of Continental cattle which were beef .- Z. B.
"Sir: What happened at the close of this letter will justify my appreliensions of the enemy's not being gone. At one o'clock, afternoon [March 23d], a large party were discovered on this side the river advancing toward the fort. They surrounded the fort on all sides, firing very briskly, while others were collecting horses and cattle. I sent out about forty men and a small piece, and drove them back to a thick wood across a marsh, where the enemy made a stand. The skirmishing held till sunset. At this time the enemy were driving off cattle and horses. They got fifty-one head of horned cattle and ten horses, burned three barns partly full of grain and hay, and two dwelling-houses. We lost no men killed or taken ; we had two wounded, but 'tis hoped not mortally. 24th and 25th of March being extremely stormy, we lieard not much about then1. 26th, we discovered large smokes rising about four miles down the river, on the other side, where we had a guard in a block-house to guard a mill. 27th, two men from the block-house
* See "Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania," I : 461.
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informed us all is well, except three barns partly filled with grain and hay, and two houses with some quantity of provisons, were burned. At the time of the burning our people discovered a considerable number [of Indians] running about, but none have been seen this day [March 27] yet. It is now twelve o'clock. I have sent this same account to General Washington and the Board of War. 28th .- Nothing happened since the above account, only we now believe we discover their smokes. From our last discover- ies I rather think the enemy were near 300.
" I am your Honor's most obedient humble Servant, [Signed] " ZEBN. BUTLER."
During the fight on the Kingston Flats on March 21st, "Anthony Turkey," an Indian who had formerly lived in the Valley, and whose name is mentioned hereinbefore, having been shot through the thigh was surrounded by some of the Westmorelanders, who cried out: "Sur- render, 'Turkey,' we won't hurt you !" Conscious, undoubtedly, of his own cruelties, he fought like a tiger-cat to the last. After the Indians had retired from the scene of the engagement, some of the men from the block-house took possession of the body of "Turkey " and put it into an old canoe. Fixing in the hands of the dead Indian a bow and arrow, and pinning to the body a written "pass," requiring all persons to " let the bearer go to his master-King George or the Devil," the inen fast- ened a dead rooster in the bow of the canoe and then launched it in the river. Down stream it floated, amid the cheers of men and boys. Owing to the high water the canoe went clear of Nanticoke Falls, and in due time arrived opposite Catawissa, where there was a small settle- ment. A man there, seeing the drifting canoe, with something in it, pushed off from the shore in a boat, eager to capture a prize. But what was his surprise, when he drew near, to see an Indian with bow bent and an arrow, drawn to the head, aimed directly at him. He fled quicker than he came, but being a man of resolution pushed off again with his rifle, and found the dead " Turkey" just as he had been launched. Having been towed ashore for the people there to look and laugh at, "Turkey" was again turned adrift and speeded on his way down the river.
On the same day that the Indians made a show of besieging Fort Wyoming, a band of them attacked the house of Thaddeus Williams,* situated nearly half a mile from the fort, in the town-plot of Wilkes- Barré. The Williams family had reinoved from Wilkes-Barré at the time of the general flight from the Valley after the battle of Wyoming, but later the men and boys of the family returned. Isaac Williams, one of the sons of Thaddeus, was the young man who, in company with John Abbott, was murdered by Indians about the middle of August, 1778-as narrated on page 722. Thomas Williams, the eldest son of Thaddeus, was one of the original members of Capt. Samuel Ransom's " Westmoreland Independent Company " in the Continental service, and upon the consolidation of the companies of Ransom and Durkee under the captaincy of Simnon Spalding, Thomas Williams was promoted
* THADDEUS WILLIAMS, originally of Fairfield County, Connecticut, was married about 1755 to Frances Case of Hartford, Connecticut, and in 1776 they immigrated with their children to Wilkes- Barré. The former died April 11, 1796, and the latter in August, 1815. After his discharge from the Continental army Serg't Thomas Williams, eldest son of Thaddeus, went to Connecticut, where he was married in 1783 to Elizabeth Robertson of Bethel, Fairfield County. They resided near Bridge- port, Connecticut, until 1790, when they removed to that part of the township of Wilkes-Barre which is now the township of Plains. There they lived until their respective deaths-she dying December 6, 1835, aged seventy-one years, and he dying November 12, 1839, aged eighty-three years. Their remains rest in Hollenback Cemetery. Thomas and Elizabeth (Robertson) Williams were the parents of six sons and four daughters. One of the daughters-Clarissa-became the wife of Benjamin Court- right (born 1789; died January 22, 1867), son of Cornelius Courtright, mentioned hereinbefore. The youngest son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Robertson) Williams was Jonathan Robertson Williams, who was born in Wilkes-Barre (now Plains) Township, December 5, 1809, and died subsequently to 1881, near where he was born.
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a Sergeant. (See pages 897 and 981.) He was, of course, with his company at Fort Wyoming during the Winter of 1778 and the Spring of 1779, but at the time the Indians made their incursion into the Val- ley, as previously related, he was at the house of his father on a fur- lough.
On March 23d (the day of the attack on Fort Wyoming) Thaddeus Williams was ill in bed, while the only other persons in the house were Serg't Thomas Williams and his brother, aged twelve or thirteen years. The location of the Williamns house was such that the Indians deter- mined to attack and destroy it previous to their meditated attack on the fort. Therefore a party of ten or more of thein made their way to the house. Seeing them approaching, Sergeant Williams made his prepa- rations for defense by barricading the doors and getting his guns ready for effective use. Fortunately there were three muskets and plenty of ammunition in the house. Giving his young brother the necessary directions for reloading the guns as fast as he should fire them, he awaited the approach of the savages. When they arrived within short range Williams took deliberate aiin between the logs of which the house was constructed, and brought the leader of the attacking party dead to the ground. With a hideous yell his companions retreated, dragging the dead body with them. Then they returned to the attack and assaulted the door of the house, which, however, was too securely fast- ened to yield. The number of Indians was now increased by the arri- val of others, and they, in turn, fired into the house through the chinks between the logs. By one of these shots Thaddeus Williams was severely wounded as he lay in his bed, but Sergeant Williams kept up as brisk a fire as his young brother, who acted his part manfully, could enable him to do. A second and a third one of the savages fell, when the survivors again retreated, taking their slain with them and raising the customary death howls. Maddened by their losses, however, they again approach- ed the house, one of them bearing a flaming brand with which he had resolved to fire the building. But the Sergeant was at his post, and with deliberate aim he quickly turned the brand-bearer into a corpse ; whereupon the attacking party withdrew, taking their dead with them.
While the events just described were taking place in Wyoming Val- ley, General Washington and those in his confidence at headquarters were quietly devising plans for an effective military campaign against the hostile and troublesome Indians on the upper Susquehanna and its New York tributaries. On February 27, 1779, the Congress had passed a resolution authorizing Washington to take the most effectual measures for protecting the inhabitants of the States and chastizing the Indians, and the Commander-in-Chief determined to carry out this resolution with vigor. The plan of a vigorous campaign contemplated the entire destruc- tion of everything upon which the Indians depended for food or shelter. " It was planned that the invading army was to enter the Indian coun- try in three divisions-one from the south, up the Susquehanna ; another from the east, down that river; the third from the west, by way of the Allegheny .* These were to form a junction at some conven- ient point, advance against the strongholds of the enemy in such force as could not possibly be resisted, and then overturn the whole Iroquois
* In consequence of subsequent plans the third, or western, division, numbering about 800 men under the command of Col. Daniel Brodhead (see note on page 258, Vol. I), performed its work with- out making a junction with the other divisions or receiving any orders from General Sullivan.
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country west of the Oneida villages."* Under the date of March 3, 1779, Washington wrote to Governor Clinton of New York, and also to President Reed of Pennsylvania, in part as followst :
"I amı, therefore, to inform your Excellency that offensive operations against the hostile tribes of Indians have been meditated and determined upon some time since, and that preparations have been making for that purpose, and will be carried into execution. * ** * But the profoundest secrecy was judged necessary to the success of such an enterprise. * * With respect to the force to be employed on this occasion it is scarce- ly necessary to observe that the detaching of a considerable number of Continental troops on such a remote expedition would too much expose the country adjacent to the body of the enemy's army. There must, therefore, be efficacious assistance derived from the States whose frontiers are obnoxious to the inroads of the barbarians. * * * They should be corps of active rangers, who are at the same time expert marksmen and accustomed to the irregular kind of wood-fighting practised by the Indians. Men of this description, embodied under proper officers, would be infinitely preferable to a superior number of militia unacquainted with this species of war, and who would exhaust the magazines of ammunition and provision without rendering any effectual service."
Under the date of March 6, 1779, Washington wrote at his head- quarters at Middle Brook, New Jersey, a letter reading in part as follows :
" Congress having determined upon an expedition of an extensive nature against the hostile tribes of the Indians of the Six Nations, the command is offered to Maj. Gen. [Horatio] Gates, as senior officer ; but should he decline, it is my wish it should devolve upon you. That no time may be lost by General Gates' non-acceptance, I have put this letter under cover to him, and have desired him to forward it to you, should that be his determination. Should it, therefore, be sent to you, I must request you to set out as speedily as possible, after the receipt of it, to headquarters, as the season is already far advanced. Upon your arrival the whole plan of the expedition shall be communicated to you, and measures concerted for carrying it into execution. Nothing will contribute more to our success in the quarter where we really intend to strike, than alarming the enemy in a contrary one, and drawing their attention that way. To do this you may drop hints of an expedition to Canada. * * * I would wish you to keep the motive of your journey to headquarters a secret, because if it is known that an officer of your rank is to take command to the westward, it will be immediately concluded that the object must be considerable."
This letter was addressed to Maj. Gen. John Sullivan, but was sent by Washington to Major General Gates, who duly received it and
* See the "historical address" (page 340) by the Rev. David Craft in "Journals of the Military Expedition of Maj. Gen. John Sullivan."
i See "Public Papers of George Clinton," IV : 615.
# JOHN SULLIVAN, (JR.), was born February 17, 1740, in Somersworth, New Hampshire, the third son of John Sullivan (born in 1692; died in 1796), a native of Limerick, Ireland, who had immi- grated to America in 1723. The wife of the latter was a native of Cork, Ireland, who, also, had come to America in 1723. John Sullivan, Sr., who was a farmer by occupation, was a man of intellectual capacity and education. One of his sons was James Sullivan, for some years Attorney General, and afterwards Governor, of Massachusetts-dying while holding the latter office. Without the advantage of what is commonly termed a liberal education, John Sullivan, Jr., studied law with Samuel Liver- more (later a Delegate in Congress from New Hampshire, and then a Justice of the Superior Court of that State), and upon his admission to the Bar established himself in his profession at Durham, New Hampshire. He was self-possessed, and gifted with a strong power of reasoning and a copious and easy elocution, aided by a clear and musical voice. His practise soon became extensive and suc- cessful. In 1772 he received a commission as Major in the militia of New Hampshire.
As noted on page 354, Vol. I, the First Continental Congress assembled at Philadelphia Septem- ber 5, 1774. Major Sullivan was present as one of the two Delegates from New Hampshire, and, serving as a member of the Committee on Violation of Rights, he reported a set of articles which, as John Adams wrote in his diary, "were two years afterwards recapitulated in the Declaration of Inde- pendence, on July 4, 1776." The first direct Colonial assault on royal authority was the capture, by a band of New Hampshire men, led by Maj. John Sullivan and Capt. John Langdon, of the royal Fort William and Mary at Newcastle, New Hampshire, in December, 1774. The capture was made in broad daylight, the garrison of five men and an officer being seized and locked up, while the captors-after giving three cheers in honor of their success, and, for the first time in American history, hauling down the royal flag-carried off 100 barrels of powder, some light guns and small arms. Under Sul- livan's direction these munitions of war were carried in boats up the river to Durham, where they were stored in the cellar of the Congregational Meeting-house. (In September, 1894, on the site of this old building, a monument to General Sullivan was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies.)
In January, 1775, Major Sullivan and Captain Langdon, previously mentioned, were elected Rep- resentatives from New Hampshire to the Second Continental Congress, and on the 10th of the follow- ing May Sullivan took his seat in the Congress, at Philadelphia. June 22, 1775, the Congress chose eight Brigadier Generals for the new Continental army, and John Sullivan was one of the number. He immediately accepted the appointment, resigned his seat in the Congress, received his commission, proceeded to the camp at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was assigned by Washington to the com- mand of one of the brigades composing the left wing of the army, and stationed at Winter Hill. Later in the year, to replace the Connecticut troops in Washington's army, General Sullivan went to New Hampshire, raised 2,000 men in ten days, and marched them to the vicinity of Boston. No important military operations took place during the Winter of 1775-'76, and in March, 1776, the British evac- uated Boston. In the latter part of May General Sullivan was ordered to proceed with a body of troops to Canada to reinforce the Continental troops there-he to assume command of the entire
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force. Gen. Horatio Gates succeeded Sullivan in command of this northern army early in July, 1776, at Crown Point, and shortly afterwards Sullivan set out for Philadelphia.
When, early in August, 1776, the Continental army was reorganized, John Sullivan was appointed by Congress, and duly commissioned, "Major General of the army of the United States," and was ordered to join Washington in the city of New York. At that time the British forces assembled on Staten Island consisted of 24,000 men, and it was obviously their purpose to gain possession of the city of New York. The principal part of the American army-which was far inferior to that of the enemy in numbers and efficiency-was stationed on the lower end of the island of Manhattan, while a small part of the army, under the command of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene, occupied extensive works at Brooklyn, on Long Island. About the middle of August Greene was compelled, by illness, to relinquish his command, and Sullivan was appointed to succeed him. The battle of Long Island was fought August 27, 1776 (see page 485, Vol. I), and General Sullivan was among the large num- ber of prisoners captured by the enemy. The following is an extract from a letter written by a Brit- ish officer shortly after this battle. (See "American Archives," Fifth Series, I : 1259.) "The Hessians and our brave Highlanders gave no quarter; and it was a fine sight to see with what alacrity they despatched the rebels with their bayonets after we had surrounded them. To that they could not resist. Our loss was nothing. We took care to tell the Hessians that the rebels had resolved to give no quarter to them, in particular; which made them fight desperately, and put all to death that fell into their hands. The Island is all ours, and we shall soon take New York. I expect the affair will be over this campaign, and we shall all return covered with American laurels, and have the cream of American lands allotted us for our services." On August 30th General Sullivan was paroled, and
MAJ. GEN. JOHN SULLIVAN.
reached New York City the same day. Later he was exchanged for General Prescott (a prisoner in the hands of the Americans), and soon afterwards rejoined the army-being placed in command of one of its five divisions the next Spring.
With his command General Sullivan was active and efficient throughout the campaign in New Jersey in the Summer of 1777. In June of that year the Chief Justice of Quebec wrote to him: "You were the first man in active rebellion, and drew with you the Province you live in. You will be one of the first sacrifices to the resentment and justice of the [British] Government. Your family will be ruined, and you must die with ignominy!" At the battle of the Brandywine Sullivan's activity and skill were everywhere visible, and at the battle of Germantown he led two divisions of troops. He passed the wretched Winter of 1777-'78 at Valley Forge, but in March, 1778, he received orders from Washington to take command of the American forces in Rhode Island. These forces consisted of 10,000 men, in two divisions-one commanded by General Greene and the other by General the Mar- quis de Lafayette. While there Sullivan fought what Lafayette declared to be the most hotly contested battle of the war- the British losing probably 1,000 men. Sullivan drew off without loss of troops or equipments, and his action met with the approval of his superior officers and of Congress. General Sullivan remained in command at Rhode Island during the Winter of 1778-'79 and the following Spring, until appointed to organize and command the expedition against the Six Nation Indians. He was at that time just thirty-nine years of age. ,
Shortly after his return from that expedition General Sullivan addressed a communication to Congress, in which he expressed a desire to retire from the military service-on the ground that his
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transmitted it to General Sullivan-sending to Washington at the same time a communication reading in part as follows :
"Last night I had the honor of your Excellency's letter. The man who under- takes the Indian service should enjoy youth and strength-requisites I do not possess. It therefore grieves me that your Excellency should offer me the only command to which I am entirely unequal. In obedience to your command I have forwarded your letter to General Sullivan."
In a letter to the President of Congress dated April 14, 1779, Washington wrote :
" The plan of operations for the campaign being determined, a commanding officer was to be appointed for the Indian expedition. This command, according to all present appearances, will probably be of the second, if not the first, importance of the campaign. The officer conducting it has a flattering prospect of acquiring more credit than can be expected by any other this year ; and he has the best reason to hope for success. General Lee, from his situation, was out of the question ; General Schuyler (who, by the way, would have been most agreeable to me) was so uncertain of continuing in the army that I could not appoint him ; General Putnam I need not mention. I therefore made the offer of it-for the appointment could no longer be delayed-to General Gates, who was next in seniority. * * My letter to him on the occasion, I believe you will think, was conceived in very candid and polite terms, and it merited a different answer from the one given to it."
By Washington, as well as by others, the reply made by Gates to the Commander-in-Chief was deemed as little less than insolent. Sulli- van, however, accepted the command and went to work with his usual energy ; though, perhaps, he was quite conscious that the task he had undertaken was more useful than glorious.
At Wilkes-Barré, under the date of March 31, 1779, Col. Zebulon Butler wrote to Brig. General Hand, at Minisink, forwarding the letter to him by the hand of Lieut. John Jenkins, Jr. The original letter, now in the possession of George H. Butler, Esq., of Dorranceton, Wyo- ming Valley, reads in part as follows :
"Dear Genr !- Yours of the 25th instant came to hand last evening. In answer thereto Mr. Jinkings will wait on you, and as I conclude you have my account of the late action at this place I shall omit saying anything about it; and if you have not, Mr. Jinkins will be abel to give you the particulars of that affair.
"With reference to the Indian Job Jilliway *- I was well acquainted [with him]. The last I heard of him he went with General McIntosh to the Ohio, and is since dead of the small-pox.
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